Warrensville Heights Teen Dies After Fight

WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS, Ohio — The death of a Warrensville Heights teen is being investigated after she died following a fight Wednesday night, Fox 8 News reports.

The incident happened just after 8 p.m. in the 4700 block of Walford Road.

According to a Warrensville Heights police report, officers responded to the area for a “fight in progress.”

Once they arrived, the fight had already been broken up, but they noticed an ambulance outside a nearby apartment, where rescue workers were tending to an unresponsive 16-year-old Shaakira Dorsey.

Shaakira’s stepfather told officers that she was “pacing back and forth” before she collapsed in the grass. He initially failed to tell them that Shaakira had been in an altercation prior to the emergency.

That’s when, police say, a woman pulled up in an SUV and told officers that her 16-year-old daughter had been fighting with Shaakira.

It was then that Shaakira’s stepfather told officers that he had stopped a fight between Shaakira and the other girl. He said he hadn’t mentioned it before because “he felt there had been a long time-lapse between the fight and Shaakira passing out,” the report stated.

A 911 call from an unidentified woman detailed the alleged events before the girl’s death.

CALLER: “I live on Walford, and at the end of my driveway, it’s some kids fighting, and it’s adults — they’re watching.”

A neighbor told police she had also witnessed a fight in the parking lot, saying that one girl had fallen on top of the other (believed to be Shaakira) and was punching her in the face. The neighbor said the fight was dispersed by an adult male.

A spokesperson for the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office said Shaakira Dorsey died Wednesday night after being taken to University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center.

Her parents told police that she had no underlying medical conditions. Autopsy results are pending.

Meanwhile, police say the mother who drove up to the scene took her daughter to the police station. The 16-year-old girl is in custody while the case is being investigating.

No charges have been filed.

The Warrensville Heights High School has released the following statement:

“Warrensville Heights City School District is deeply saddened by the loss of a member of our student family, Shaakira Dorsey, who passed away on Wednesday evening. Shaakira was an eleventh grade student at the High School and a member of the Lady Tigers Softball Team.

We will follow our established procedures for this type of crisis. The Grief Counseling Team will be available in the High School throughout the remainder of the week and next week as well.

At this time, we are respecting her family’s privacy and ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Details regarding arrangements will be shared at a later date.”

Stick with Fox 8 News and FOX8.com for updates on this story as they become available.